Ready to Answer All Bells: A Blueprint for Successful Naval Engineering

Article excerpt

In the surface navy, orders to a ship as the engineer officer are often received with apprehension. Many recognize the engineering department head position as the most difficult and challenging tour of a junior officer's career. In order to help the newly arrived engineer officer, David Bruhn, an experienced surface naval officer with several afloat engineering department tours to his credit, has attempted to write an overview of what an engineering officer's job truly involves. It is highlighted with his personal examples of successful practices, as well as those of several others. Bruhn states that his purpose in writing this book is to provide a philosophy to help one lead and manage an engineering department, to shorten the "learning curve" by exposing the new engineer to fleet experience. Although the material is thoughtful and offers the reader a look into the world of"the hole," it falls short in providing a philosophy for success.

Although advertised as a "blueprint," the book centers only on preparing for inspections rather than providing a coherent strategy for operational success. …